Microsoft Surface with Windows RT

Comes with a full version of Office 2013 (Home and Student). Good battery life. MicroSDXC slot. USB 2.0 port. Compact. Includes Touch Cover. Touch Cover sleeps and wakes the tablet. Micro-HDMI port. No fans. "Always connected." Dual band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz).

Cons

Kickstand assist only on left face. Only one angle on kickstand. Requires flat surface to use with Touch and Type covers. Speakers are very soft. Few apps on Microsoft's Store. Not compatible with existing Windows 7 and XP programs. Proprietary charger port.

Bottom Line

The Microsoft Surface with Windows RT bridges the distance between tablet and laptop for many users, particularly if you use the Web or Microsoft Office constantly. The Surface has very good hardware and some innovative design, but Microsoft Office RT is the killer app that comes to the Surface and makes it shine.

Surface for Everyday
Typing on the Surface while it sits on your lap does work, but only just. The keyboard flap may reach to and over your waistline, which may be awkward. The tablet and cover combo is pretty light, but the fact that the kickstand is effectively supported by the kickstand's two corners means that it digs into the tops of your legs. It's best to use the Surface and its keyboard cover on a flat table or desk.

Both the Type Cover and the Touch Cover are a little smaller than full size: Measure a standard laptop keyboard (like the one on a Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon), and it's about 7.5 inches edge-to-edge from Q to P keys. On the Surface Touch Cover and Type Cover, it's about 7.25 inches. You'll get used to the Surface keyboards fairly quickly, but there's a period of adjustment.

The row of function keys on the top of the keyboard are mapped to functions like Volume, Play/Pause, and the Home/Page Up/Page Down/Delete keys. Four function keys bring up the Charms bar, and functions including Search, Settings, and Share. The function keys are clearly marked with icons for each of the actions. The F1-F12 keys show up on the Type Cover, but not on the Touch Cover. For the Touch Cover, you'll need to hold down the Fn key to access the actual F1-F12 functions on some programs.

The included Touch Cover features a film keyboard embedded in a neoprene-like material. Since it is only 3.5mm thick, the keyboard on the Touch Cover doesn't have any tactile feedback. The Touch Cover activates the same audible feedback that you would get from the onscreen virtual keyboard, depending on the sound volume on your Surface (mute the sound, and you won't hear any "clicks.") Both covers feature a trackpad with areas marked off for left and right mouse clicks. Both trackpads are multitouch and feature gestures like two finger swipes and tap to left click.

The Type Cover has a set of physical keys that have an actual (shallow) travel. The Type Cover's tactile feel is a better bet for those who have tried and can't stand how the virtual keyboard feels on their fingertips when typing on a tablet's screen like on the Surface, Sony VAIO Tap 20, or the iPad.

While the Type Cover has actual tactile feel, the Touch Cover has better responsiveness. At first try, the Type Cover feels just a bit sloppier while typing than the Touch Cover, until you get used to it. Both are better than using the on-screen keyboard, partly because the screen has no "give," but mostly because the on-screen keyboard takes up a lot of space and will obscure on-screen elements like the browser or a Word document. You'll also welcome the fact that the Touch Cover has a softer feel than typing directly on the screen.

Switching keyboards is simple. The magnetic latches guide the cover into place. It takes only a few seconds to change the covers, and they're so light you could take both with you in a commute bag. The Surface slate weighs 1.48 pounds alone, 1.94 pounds with Touch Cover, 1.95 pounds with Type Cover, 2.20 pounds Touch Cover & AC adapter, and 2.22 pounds Type Cover & AC adapter. Basically, the tablet by itself works best when you're walking around at home; the Touch Cover is comfortable for about half an hour of steady work (or hours of IM and surfing); and the Type Cover (or an external Bluetooth keyboard) is necessary for serious writing (1,000+-word sessions).

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Joel Santo Domingo is the Lead Analyst for the Desktops team at PC Magazine Labs. He joined PC Magazine in 2000, after 7 years of IT work for companies large and small. His background includes managing mobile, desktop and network infrastructure on both the Macintosh and Windows platforms. Joel is proof that you can escape the retail grind: he wore a yellow polo shirt early in his tech career. Along the way Joel earned a BA in English Literature and an MBA in Information Technology...
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